


Settle the Score

by FernPool



Series: Settle the Score [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Armitage Hux is Not Nice, Canon-Typical Violence, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Force Bond (Star Wars), POV Alternating, Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Slow Burn, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:14:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 9,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24277948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FernPool/pseuds/FernPool
Summary: Three months after the events of the Last Jedi, the Resistance is getting back on their feet after nearly all their members were killed on Crait, having settled on the forested planet Batuu. Supreme Leader Kylo Ren and the First Order have tightened their hold on the Galaxy, and the Knights of Ren, Kylo Ren’s elite apprentices, have returned. A post-TLJ fic.Updates Randomly
Relationships: Finn/Rose Tico, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: Settle the Score [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1798063
Comments: 10
Kudos: 12





	1. Shakedown

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this while listening to Shakedown by The Score and Glory by The Score. Beta'd by [the-grays-of-ink](https://the-grays-of-ink.tumblr.com/) I hope you enjoy! Updates on Tuesdays and Thursdays as of now!  
> Edit 6/4/2020: I did not realize that Batuu was Galaxy's Edge, having never been to Disney and doing research of Wookieepedia. *Facepalms*

In a shady cantina on Coruscant, the meager remains of the Resistance barter for weapons to fight against the sinister First Order after the massacre on Crait. Rey, Poe, and Finn are making a deal with one of the only resistance-friendly weapons-dealers on Coruscant, Talon Karrde.

Rey spaces off, not paying attention to the deal, when a familiar Force signature alerts Rey. She hadn’t sensed that Force signature since the Force bond closed on Crait.

“Ren’s here.”

Poe stops talking and nods, tossing her the activator chip for one of the speeders parked outside.

Karrde stops talking. “Kylo Ren! Leave here now! I won’t have the First Order here!”

Poe sighs, getting up to leave. “Fine. Finn, let’s go.” Finn stands up and takes the other activator chip.

The trio race outside of the cantina, and the familiar whine of speeder engines splits the air. Rey looks out into the lane, and senses three Order speeders on their way- two troopers and Ren himself, on a sleek custom speeder. She freezes momentarily, checking to make sure her lightsaber is still secured at her side.

“Rey! We gotta go!”

Satisfied that her saber is on her belt, she turns away and hops on her speeder, quickly pivoting to leave the cantina in their wake.

They weave through the dilapidated buildings and stalls along the main road, surroundings blurring together.

“They’re gaining on us! Somebody do something about it!” Poe shouts through their comms.

“Do what?!?” Finn shouts. “Our guns are mounted on the front, not the back!”

Sure enough, the speeders behind them are slowly catching up to them. Rey leans closer onto her speeder, nails digging into the grips.

“We can’t outrun them. We’ll have to outmaneuver them!”

“How exactly do you plan to do that? As Finn so accurately pointed out, we can’t shoot them!” Poe shouts.

“Let out your tow cables at my speeder, trust me!”

Finn and Poe let out their tow cables, and Rey moves them with the force to connect with the back of her speeder.

“Hold on!”

Rey pulls back on the throttle, doing a complete 180 to face the troopers and Kylo Ren. Switching it into reverse, she wreaks havoc on the troopers, scoring a hit on one and sending it careening into a storefront. Ren barely notices the loss, only going faster.

“I’ll break off, see if I can lead Ren away. He’s not after you.” Rey yells.

“What! We can’t let you go alone after him!” Finn shouts in between dodging the shots from the lone trooper behind them.

“If you want to live, you will. He’s only after me!” Rey finishes. She cuts the cables with her saber, making a seemingly impossible turn off to a side road.

“Rey!!” Finn shouts.

Ren’s attention diverts to him momentarily before turning onto the side-street after Rey. The trooper stays on their trail.

________________

Rey weaves through the ever-narrowing alleyway, dodging crates and vendor stalls. She’s quickly losing her concentration as she tries to focus on both Kylo Ren and her surroundings. The speeder behind her is top-of-the-line and her secondhand speeder struggles to keep up. The only thing that’s going her way is the fact that Ren mysteriously stopped shooting after her once they were out of earshot of her friends.

Her trail of thought is interrupted by a plume of smoke and a rattling sound emanating from her engine.

“No! Nonono! Kriff!”

Her speeder suddenly flips end over end, and she crashes into a crate. She whips her helmet off, fumbling for her lightsaber. She ignites it just as Kylo Ren screeches to a stop in front of her. “You won’t be needing that.” He grabs her saber using the force, taking off his helmet to examine it closely. “Purple... an interesting choice for a Jedi who claims to have no dark in her. Purple sabers are only made when a person has both light and dark in their soul.”

Rey glares at him. “That’s rich, coming from a monster in a mask.”

His gaze whips to Rey, and he places the saber on the bike. “Monster in a mask I may be, but at least I'm not a traitor.”

“I’m no traitor!” Rey says indignantly.

“Is that what you tell yourself? All those thieves and murderers you surround your-”

“They are _no_ such thing!” Rey says, rising to her feet in anger. “They fight for what is right!”

“What is right? What is right is the way of the First Order, the law! Your Rebel compatriots have no sense of honor or justice!” Ren snarls. “If I hadn’t taken your saber, you would have tried to kill me where I stood. You draw your weapon first every time.”

“So what. You deserve it Ren.” She spits out his name.

Rey summons her lightsaber from its perch on the bike and ignites the amethyst blade.

“So be it.” Ren pulls his lightsaber off his belt.

Rey steps into position, and Ren ignites his crackling blade, spinning it in his trademark twirl.

“Ataru. Excellent choice.” Ren states.

Rey scowls, and swings her saber towards Ren’s saber arm. He parries effortlessly, dodging the myriad of attacks she rains down on him.

Rey lunges towards him, almost a blur of movement. Ren ducks, dodging her slashes.

“Hardly sufficient. Did the Jedi teach you nothing? You need to be able to pivot in case your enemies dodge like I did.” Ren lectures.

Rey glares at him. “Why are you telling me this? Just fight me!”

Ren sidestepped her swing nonchalantly. “So much anger. Not the Jedi way.”

“You have no room to judge. You killed the only one who would teach me!” Rey hisses, swiping at Ren’s midsection. He twists his blade up to block her blow.

“If I recall, I offered to teach you. I used to be a Jedi; you know.” He retorts. “But you didn’t take that opportunity.” He slices towards her side, an easily parried blow. “You missed that opportunity. Deal with your choices.”

She backs up, leaping onto a crate; then pushing off the wall for an overhead blow. Ren uses her momentum to push her off, and she lands on her feet, skidding backwards.

His hand lunges out, immobilizing her. Ren extinguishes his saber, walking towards her.

“Can you stop trying to kill me? If the only way for us to have a conversation is for you to either be unable to move or over a communication system, then so be it.” He presses a comm device into her hand. “My personal frequency. All I ask is negotiations on what to do with the Resistance in a diplomatic capacity.”

He pulls his helmet to him with the force, taking one last look at Rey, and rides away. As he vanishes out of sight, she can move again.

She looks at the communication device. Her instincts tell her it’s probably fitted with a tracking device, but her curiosity wins her over. She places it in a pouch on her belt and clips her lightsaber back on. She picks the speeder up and walks it to the rendezvous site where she meets Finn and Poe. They congratulate her on winning the duel, and they walk to the docking bay together to their Lancer-class pursuit craft, Shadow Bird.


	2. Enter: Knights Of Ren

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt that TROS left much to be desired for the Knights of Ren, so I made them actually plot-relevant. Beta'd by [the-grays-of-ink](https://the-grays-of-ink.tumblr.com/) Updates on Tuesdays and Thursdays as of now!

Kylo Ren stormed through the halls of his capital ship the Destroyer, a Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought. He had just returned from a mission to Coruscant and had lost two of the elite stormtrooper guard that he trained himself for special missions. 

Hux strode towards him, looking furious. “Ren! Where in the name of the force have you been? You missed five meetings, all for the pursuit of that scavenger girl-” Ren lifted his hand and Hux’s hands flew to his throat. 

“She murdered the Supreme Leader. We need to find her.” Ren declared. “She is also the Last Jedi and as such needs to be eliminated.” He released Hux, and the ginger doubled over, wheezing. 

“Yes, Supreme Leader.” Hux’s voice was riddled with sarcasm. He stood up and promptly walked away. 

Ren scowled, and walked towards his quarters. His footsteps echoed in the empty hallways around his quarters. No other personnel were allowed within fifty feet of his quarters after the first week and twenty assassination attempts, one which was nearly successful. He took his glove off and placed his hand on the biometric scanner outside his door. The door hissed open, and he walked inside. 

________________________________________  
Hux seethed in anger on the bridge. Ren was nothing but a rabid cur, convenient to hold the place of the Supreme Leader while he pulled the strings from behind the scenes. Some of his decisions had been unexpected, like the ban on slavery, but he speculated they had an ulterior purpose. 

Ren was still oblivious that the largest slavery ring was being run right under his nose. The stormtrooper program instated by his father, Brendol Hux. They took the children young, then instilled them with a sense of duty to the First Order. One of the few decent things his psychopath of a father did. An egocentric life he and Phasma ended with a simple Parnassos beetle. Pity he couldn’t get another one for Ren. 

__________________________________________  
Kylo Ren walks into the training room of the Thrawn. Three armored figures line the edges of the room, standing at attention. 

“At ease, Knights. Helmets off.” Ren orders. One by one, the Knights of Ren take off their masks. The tallest one, a burly human man with fluffy blonde hair, steps forwards. 

“Kylo! You should have told us you were going to Coruscant! Trien and I wanted to show you the Senate gardens.” The man jests. 

Trien, an Arkanian man with blaze-red hair, laughs. “That’s all you, Marek. I just need my feet planetside.” 

Kylo looks at both condescendingly. “It wasn’t a social visit, Trien. I was on a mission.” 

The third figure, a human woman in adapted Mandalorian armor, walks up behind the two men, flicking the back of their heads. “Kylo just got back from a mission to find the Jedi girl. If you two moof-milkers paid attention, you’d know that.” She turns to Kylo. “Did you give her the comm?” 

Kylo nods. “Yes. She was confused why I wouldn’t fight her.” The woman turns away, walking towards the sparring floor. “Not surprised. You have tried to kill her, what... twice in the last six months?” 

Kylo scowls. “I didn’t know she was on that piece of junk, and Snoke was out of my control. Sarvia, you know that.” 

Sarvia grins. “Get Marek up to date on the mission. We can’t have the second-in-command oblivious to what goes on in missions.” She grabs twin sabers off her belt and settles into a reverse grip stance. 

“Trien! I need a situation five on the droids, please!” Sarvia shouts. 

Trien head over to a panel on the side of the door, and punches in a few numbers before sitting down to polish a vibroblade “Got it!” Droids around the room whir to life and begin shooting at Sarvia. She blocks and dodges the bolts of energy, deflecting some onto the droids. 

Kylo begins giving Marek a summary of the mission. When he gets to the part where Rey drives backwards, Marek laughs. “Are you sure you’re not making this up? You used to do that all the time during our early days until you crashed.” 

Kylo nods his head. “I believe on Starkiller, when she went inside my head, she gained some of my knowledge on combat and speeder maneuvers. It’s the only way she would know how to do that.” 

He pats Marek on the shoulder, his face darkening. “So be careful if you ever have to fight her. She might know your tactics and use them against you.” 

He begins to turn away from Marek, then a bolt of energy shoots towards the back of Marek's head where he’s talking to him. Kylo shoots his hand out and freezes the bolt. 

Marek whirls around. “Sarvia! What in the universe was that!” 

Sarvia smirks. “Never turn your back on an enemy, even if you think they won’t betray you.” She goes back to blocking the blaster bolts. 

Marek turns exasperated to Kylo. “See what I'm up against? You’re lucky Hux lets you go on missions to blow off some steam. The son of a bantha grounded us and we can’t go anywhere unless you’re with us.” 

“He grounded you!?!” Kylo says angrily. “I’m going to have a word with that bastard!” He storms off, heading to Hux’s office. The bolt he had been holding with the force smashes into the wall. 

______________________________________________  
“Hux!” Kylo storms into Hux’s office, where the man is sitting nonchalantly at his desk reading a datapad. “You grounded my Knights from leaving the Thrawn? I had made it known that they were to have the same security clearance as myself. If you have a reason, it better be a good one!” 

Hux glared at him and sipped his caf. “Your Knights ignored landing protocol and went straight to their quarters. That is a clear violation of section 2-78b. The standard punishment for this is grounding.” He sneered. “Ask your Knight Trien, or as he used to be called, 3N-0429. He should know the code better than any one of your lackeys.” 

“Save your breath, Lieutenant General Hux. Your system has no authority over my Knights.” 

Hux spluttered out, “You-you can’t just demote me!” 

Kylo scowled. “I am the Supreme Leader of the First Order. My word is law.” With those words, he marches out the door, shoving Hux’s caf into his face and slamming the door with the Force. 

He storms through the halls heading back to the training room, and all the officers and troopers stay well out of his way. 

He walks back into the training room with the smallest hint of a smirk on his face, which quickly fades when he sees a Mirialan in the training room. 

“Escryn Ren. You’re late.” Kylo scowls. “And where are Bairam and Domin Ren? I will not stand for insubordination from my Knights.” 

The Mirialan turns around. “On their way up, they simply needed to take care of an officer that tried to stop us.” She sneered. 

Kylo stared icily at her. “They were to come straight here. You are not the master of the Knights of Ren. I am. Snoke would have killed you for that. Consider this your first strike.” 

“Yes, Master.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought: https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Mandator_IV-class_Siege_Dreadnought  
> Brendol Hux: https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Brendol_Hux  
> Parnassos Beetle: https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Parnassos_beetle  
> Mandalorian armor: https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Mandalorian_armor  
> Caf (coffee): https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Caf  
> Rabid cur, Moof-milkers, Son of a Bantha, Kriff: https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_phrases_and_slang  
> Vibroblade: https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Vibroblade  
> Arkanian: https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Arkanian/Legends  
> Mirialan: https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Mirialan


	3. Two Aces and a Connection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I listened to Stronger by The Score. (Yes, I know all my favorite music is by The Score.) Beta'd by [the-grays-of-ink](https://the-grays-of-ink.tumblr.com/) Updates on Tuesdays and Thursdays as of now!

Back at the resistance base in Black Spire Outpost on Batuu, Rey stands outside a room tapping her foot impatiently. She had been waiting outside the hut for more than an hour for General Leia Organa to finish debriefing Finn and Poe so she could tell her about her odd experience with Kylo Ren on Coruscant. 

The door creaked open, and Finn and Poe filed out. Rey snapped out of her train of thought and walked inside the hut, shutting the door behind her. Leia gestured to the chair across from her with a wave. 

“Rey, sit down please. I can tell you have a lot to talk about.” 

Rey looked up, surprised. “Yes, General Organa. I had a strange encounter while I was on Coruscant, and I need some guidance on what to do.” She inhales shakily. “It was Kylo Ren.” 

Leia nods. “Finn and Poe told me as such. Our intel didn’t tell us he would be there, and I apologize for that.” She looks Rey in the eyes. “What happened after he went after you?” Her voice shakes, betraying her worries. 

“Kylo Ren chased after me, and my speeder gave out. He stopped and called my saber to him, so I couldn’t fight back. He said purple was an interesting choice.” Rey recalls. “I grabbed my saber back when he was distracted arguing. Then we fought, but he froze me with the force.” She furrows her brow. “He said he didn’t want to kill me. Then he gave me a comm device. He said it was his personal frequency and he wanted to negotiate with the resistance.” Rey finishes. 

Leia stares at Rey. “He what?” Her jaw drops. “Did you use the comm device? Where is it?” 

“No, I didn’t use it, and I left it on an asteroid near Jakku. I figured it would be tracked, but I know how to get it.” Rey stammers. “Should I have brought it here?” 

Leia shakes her head. “No, Rey. You did exactly the right thing. I can’t believe that my son, or by extension the First Order wants to negotiate. It is probably a trap.” She reaches over and takes Rey’s hand, her eyes softening. “Rey, I need to know. Is he...?” 

In that moment, Rey didn’t see a General, or a princess, she saw a mother scared for her son. She takes a deep breath and tells the truth. “There is still light in him.” 

Leia smiles sadly and squeezes her hand lightly. “Thank you, Rey.” She says, drawing her hand back. “You can go now.” 

Rey nods, standing up to leave. “General, Finn and Poe set up a game of Sabacc in the mess hall, if you want to join us?” 

Leia laughs. “They wouldn’t stand a chance against me. I was taught by the best, and even Han couldn’t stand a chance against me. I might stop by later, try to steal the show.” She winks, and Rey nods, walking out the door. 

____________________________________________ 

Rey walks along the corridor, trailing her fingers over a groove in the wall. No matter how many days went by, she was still amazed that there was a place where people could just sit and play cards with their friends without having to worry about their next meal. She still hadn’t gotten used to food being readily available. Or having friends, for that matter. Finn, Rose and Poe were her first friends. 

She had bunked up with Rose on the Millennium Falcon after they escaped from Crait, and Rose had quickly become friends with her while fixing the Falcon. They were the only mechanics onboard, and the Falcon was in desperate need of repairs. It seemed that ship was never in working order. They had ended up playing Sabacc with Poe and Snap Wexley after a shift and had since then played it almost every night when they had time. 

Rey walked into the Common room of the building and sat down around the table where Poe, Rose and Finn were sitting. 

“Hey, Poe! Deal me in? I just got done talking to the General, and she might stop by later.” 

Poe nodded, and dealt her and everyone else two cards. “How’d it go?” 

Rey checked her cards. Kriff. She had a two and a four. Not exactly an ideal hand. “I filled her in what happened, and she said we did the right thing dropping it off. I got a two and a four” 

Rose cut in. “I wouldn’t have kept it either. That monster would probably track us.” She laughed. “That has to be one of the worst hands I've ever seen. I have a 6 and a Commander.” 

“I got a Master and a 5” Finn looked to Rose. “He probably would. I don’t know why we even took it off the planet.” 

Poe stared at Finn. “Are you serious? They probably saw us taking off, and it would have been suspicious if we left it there.” He smirked. “I got two Aces.” 

Rey and Rose looked at him in shock, and Finn threw his cards down. 

“Cheater!” Rose accused. “There is no way you have two Aces!” 

“I do!” He whipped his cards on the table with a flourish, smirking, and Rey saw that he did indeed have two Aces. 

Finn dejectedly sat down. “I never get lucky like you.” 

Rose punched him on the shoulder playfully. “You’ve got me, and I consider that lucky, dummy.” 

Finn threw his hands up. “I meant in card games, Rose!” 

She smiled. “I know.” Poe made a gagging noise. Rose frowned at him. “Oh, come on Poe. You’ll meet the right person someday.” 

Rey smiled. Every time they played Sabacc; Poe ended up winning. It was one of the few constants in the hectic life on Ackbar Base, other than chaos. She almost missed the monotony of her scavenging days, where she always knew what she was going to do that day. But she wouldn’t give any of her new life up for her old one. Ever. 

____________________________________________________  
Rey strolled into the large room in the basement that the resistance used for training. The duracrete walls were pockmarked with blaster bolts and the odd lightsaber scrape, but she never felt better than training here. It brought har back to her scavenging days, when she could just move and not have to think about anything other than her next meal. The Jedi texts had given a few tips on how to duel but were usually dry and impossible to translate. She flipped to the page she had left off at, detailing a move she struggled to perfect, and always left her falling to the floor. 

She cycled into her opening stance, igniting her saber. She planted her feet on the ground and moved through the form. She got to the part she always messed up, a backflipping slash. 

She jumped off the ground, leaning into the flip, and unceremoniously fell flat on her back. She got up, struggling to breathe. 

A familiar tingling sensation started in the back of her neck, but Rey chalked it up to having the wind knocked out of her a few seconds ago. It couldn’t be the bond. She had blocked it off to the best of her ability after Crait. When the sound around her dulled, Rey realized she must have let her shields down for a split second, and apparently the force had seen fit to connect her and her monstrous bondmate. 

She felt someone looking at her and looked up. She saw Kylo Ren sitting at a desk, with stacks of datapads surrounding him. He looked gaunt, like he hadn’t slept in days. 

“I haven’t.” Kylo remarked. 

Kriff. She must have hit her head or something if he was able to read her thoughts. 

“Stay out of my head!” She folded her arms in front of her. 

The sleemo smirked. “You’re broadcasting your thoughts. Any self-respecting Jedi could shield their mind.” She glared at him. “Of course, you’re no Jedi. Jedi don’t call other people Sleemo.” 

Who does he think he is? 

“The Supreme Leader." 

She hauled her shields up, frustrated. The bond snapped shut, but not before she heard Kylo say, “Other foot forwards.” 

She slid her other foot forwards, running through the sequence. She executed it perfectly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter had a lot going on. Please let me know if you have any constructive criticism.


	4. A Bond and a Bro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo's version of the Force bond with Rey. Beta'd by [the-grays-of-ink](https://the-grays-of-ink.tumblr.com/)

Kylo frowned. He had been poring over reports for the past four hours and the most pressing issue was that Kuat had refused their commission for five new Resurgent-class Star Destroyers, quoting they were unable to receive Coaxium fuel from Kessel. The Hutts had blockaded the only route out of the Akkadese Maelstrom, and restricted transportation of Coaxium. The only coaxium that had gotten out was a few vials the Hutts had auctioned off for thirty thousand credits each. 

The First Order needed the coaxium and the Star Destroyers. After the Supremacy was split in two by Amilyn Holdo, surviving personnel were split up amongst the remaining fleet. Ships were needed more than ever for the First Order to tighten their hold on the galaxy amidst the Resistance’s near destruction. The only reason he knows the resistance is still alive is the lingering presence of the Force Bond. He had thought it was created by Snoke, but on Crait, he had seen that it still lingered. 

No matter. He wouldn’t concern himself with the Resistance for now. There were more pressing matters at hand then a bunch of misfits and an untrained Jedi. He made a note on his datapad. 

Go to Kessel with Marek, Sarvia, and Trien Ren to end trade blockade in four months' time. 

He sighed. When he killed Snoke he didn’t realize that ruling would be such work. Snoke had taken a hands-off approach, but Kylo needed to make sure his underlings wouldn’t stage a coup. Hux was wily and as slippery as a Dashta eel. The only reason he hadn’t killed Hux was his tactics and military knowledge, along with the fact that all the Generals probably would stage a coup. 

He felt a tingling sensation in the back of his neck. He hadn’t felt that since Crait, when the force last connected himself and Rey. The normal sounds of humming and beeping on the ship were blotted out, and he only heard footsteps. 

He looked over at Rey. She was practicing, and he noted the form as Ataru. She looked up and was evidently surprised to see him. 

He looks like he hasn’t slept in days. 

“I haven’t.” 

Kriff. I must have hit my head or something if he can read my thoughts. 

Rey crossed her arms. “Stay out of my head!” 

Sleemo. 

He smirked. “You’re broadcasting your thoughts. Any self-respecting Jedi could shield their mind.” He paused. “Of course, you’re no Jedi. Jedi don’t call other people Sleemo.” 

Who does he think he is? 

He fought back a laugh. “The Supreme Leader.” He looked at her fighting stance. “Other foot forwards.” 

The bond slammed shut. 

He rested his head in his hands. This was not the way to get her to trust him. He needed her to agree to negotiations. Otherwise she would never find out what this bond was, and he needed to tell her that- 

Marek Ren burst in the door, half out of breath and saber in hand. “I sensed another Force-sensitive in here a second ago! Is everything all right?” 

Kylo nodded, debating whether to tell him about their Force Bond. Marek had an uncanny ability to sense other Force-sensitives, and he would sense Rey whenever the bond connected. “Marek, get Sarvia and Trien. I need to tell you something.” 

“What about Escryn?” Marek pondered. Kylo shot him a look. “Yes Master.” He hurried out of Kylo’s office. 

Kylo grimaced. He trusts them to understand what this means, and not freak out. Well, Sarvia and Marek. Trien will probably freak out. He senses them approaching. 

Marek, Sarvia, and Trien march in the door. Kylo gestures for them to sit down. “I have something I need to tell you all. You are not to say anything about this outside this room.” He looks them each in the eyes. “To anyone.” 

They speak in unison. “Yes Master.” 

Kylo takes a deep breath. “Have you ever heard of a Force Bond?” The three shake their heads. Kylo figured that would happen. “A Force Bond is a link between two individuals that allows them to see, and in rare cases, touch, over time and space. It is created when two individuals are either closely related, have had their minds intertwined or,” He cringes. “Lovers.” 

Marek shifts uncomfortably in his seat. “Is that what I sensed? Your lover?” 

Kylo stares murderously at him. “No. Who you sensed was not my lover. In fact, she is the complete opposite.” 

“She?” Sarvia inquired. “Will she become a Knight of Ren to fill Dermo’s spot?” Dermo, the fifth Knight of Ren, had perished in Cilara city on Lothal when her mutated Loth cat, LE-0, went berserk. 

“No. She is not a dark-sider.” The three Knights looked puzzled as to who it could be. 

Kylo purses his lips. “My bond-mate is the Last Jedi, Rey.” 

“Why didn’t you try to kill her while you could? She is one of the only reasons the Resistance is still alive!” Marek shouts. 

Sarvia smacks him hard on the back of the head. “If you had been listening to the briefing on the mission, you would have found out that Kylo does not, in fact, want to kill the Jedi girl. I was wondering why, but this explains a lot.” 

Kylo nodded. “Bond mates, if harmed or killed, inflict much of the same damage and if one dies, the other is soon to follow. I need to keep the Jedi girl alive.” 

“So how exactly did this bond between you start? Are you siblings?” Trien piped in. 

Kylo scowled. “I don’t think so.” 

Sarvia sighed. “Look, I hate to ask this, but is she your lover?” 

Kylo crossed his arms. “No. I have reason to believe that the Bond was formed on Starkiller Base, when I interrogated her. She fought back and got in my mind, and I believe it originated then.” 

“Thank goodness.” Sarvia exhaled in relief. “When was the first time the Force brought you together?” 

Kylo chuckled. “I was getting my scar sutured by a med-droid in the med bay, and she shot me.” 

Marek blinked. “She what?” 

“She shot me, but the bolt didn’t hit. She ran outside of wherever she was, and I ran after her.” Kylo realizes that was a very stupid thing to do. “Then I demanded she bring Skywalker to me. My mind tricks wouldn’t work. I realized she wasn’t there in person, and I sensed Skywalker. Then it snapped shut.” 

Marek looked skeptical. “And this happened again?” 

Kylo nodded. “The next time we connected, she was outside in the rain. She called me a monster, and I agreed. Then the strangest thing happened. My glove was wet with the rain after the bond ended.” 

Marek snickered. “What happens next? She catches you with your shirt off or something?” 

His ears turned crimson red. “Well, yes.” Marek whistled lowly. “She asked me if I could put on a cowl or something, then asked me why I killed my father.” 

Marek grins. “So, to clarify, she is not your lover, despite you appearing to her shirtless and her evidently being affected?” 

Kylo glared at him harder. “If you will stop being so immature, I would like to give you more tactical information.” 

Marek shut up quickly. 

Kylo cleared his throat then continued. “She went into a dark side cave, then came to me for advice.” Kylo remembered the firelit conversation, and the spark of connection he had felt when they touched hands. He wouldn’t share that. It felt like a betrayal. 

“We touched hands through the force, and I saw a vision of her and I fighting back to back.” 

He stiffened. The knights didn’t know what happened in Snoke’s throne room. They deserved to know though. 

“Her and I worked together to kill Snoke and the vision came true, we fought the praetorian guards together.” To his surprise, the Knights didn’t explode into fury. 

“Yeah, we figured you had to have helped.” Sarvia added. “There is no way she could have taken out Snoke, the praetorian guard, and you.” 

Well that certainly made things a lot easier. 

“I asked her to join me, and rule together. She said no, and we fought over the Legacy Lightsaber. A bright flash lit up the room and I woke up to Hux.” 

Trien laughed. “Well that’s definitely not a face you want to see when you wake up.” 

Kylo smirked. “Yes. Then the Battle of Crait and I saw her for the last time boarding the Millennium Falcon.” He leaves out the part where he was on his knees, practically begging for her to come back for him. 

“And that’s what happened with the Force bond.” Kylo finishes. 

The three knights bombard him with questions. He sighs. This is so not part of his job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My characterization of Marek is that he's one of those guys that is a total Bro, hence the title. And it is totally canon (At least here) that Kylo is like an older brother to the Knights.


	5. Thoughts and a Journey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd by [the-grays-of-ink](https://the-grays-of-ink.tumblr.com/)

Rey sat on her cot in her quarters, flipping through the Jedi texts. Not even one of them mentioned the foot placement with the left foot forward. The texts simply said to put one foot forward. She set the leather-bound text down on the table next to her cot. 

“Stupid books. They never tell me anything.” She flopped onto her cot. It was almost midnight, and she was supposed to go on an exploration mission to Akiva with Rose, Jessika Pava, and Temmin “Snap” Wexley. 

She reached over and flicked the light off with the force, even though she wasn’t anywhere near being remotely tired. It reminded her of the sleepless nights on Jakku, when the wind would whip up the sand into sandstorms, what locals called Ri’ia’s breath. Those nights, she could never get to sleep, afraid of the sands suffocating her if they get inside her AT-AT. She was still afraid of storms now, even when they brought water instead of sand. 

At least she had time to think about what happened today and the day before. She had fallen straight asleep on the Shadow Bird after the duel, so she didn’t have time to think about the events of that day. She would start with today first. The briefing with Leia, practicing, and the Force Bond connection. The Force Bond. Why did it connect her and Ben? No. His name was Kylo Ren. She wasn’t going to call him Ben after what he did. 

Still, it puzzled her why he didn’t attack her or try to find out where she was. On Crait, he tried to shoot he out of the sky. On Coruscant, he didn’t hurt her or Finn and Poe. Poe had said that the troopers didn’t shoot at them. And when Kylo dueled- well, she dueled, and he blocked- He didn’t try to hurt her at all. In fact, she distinctly remembers him saying he wanted to teach her. 

Him as a teacher? She would never let him teach her. She may have listened to his advice he gave her during the short Force Bond, but that was the extent of what she would let him teach her. The advice may have been sound, but it was from a darksider. 

She snorted. He might never be a lightsider. But some small part of her wished he was. For Leia, for the galaxy. A small voice in her head whispered for me. She dismissed that thought. He may have been Ben once, and she saw parts of Ben in the bond. But he was Kylo Ren in her eyes now. 

She rolled onto her side, and closed her eyes, falling asleep. 

___________________________________________________ 

“Rey! Wake up!” A voice shouted. She felt a slight pressure on her shoulder. She rolled over, and Rose was shaking her awake. “It’s time to go! Snap and Jess are already packed and waiting, and we’re holding them up.” 

Rey shot up. “Kriff! What time is it?” She launched out of bed. 

Rose winced. “It’s almost nine.” 

Rey swore. “Give me five minutes and I’ll be ready.” She began rummaging through her bag. 

“Got it.” Rose shut the door behind her. 

Rey finally found what she was looking for. Rose and Jess had taken her shopping the week before, citing she needed a proper shopping trip for new clothes. She'd planned for Akivan jungle-like weather and found a green wrap tunic with a tied belt and some pants that Rose said were called Khaki’s. They had bought those along with an olive utility vest Rose had picked out for her. She clipped her lightsaber hilt onto her belt from where it was sitting on her bedside table and walked out the door. 

She walked through the halls of the base to the landing pad. Jess and Snap were talking with Rose, who looked panicked. Rey’s face twisted in confusion. She slung her bag over her shoulder, walking over. 

“What’s going on?” She asked. 

Rose sighed, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. “I was reassigned to Mechanic Duty, C’ai Threnalli dropped an engine block on his foot, and now they’re both broken. At least I can fix the engine.” 

Rey grimaced. “Who’s coming with us then? This was a four-person mission.” 

Jess spoke up. “Just us, Sunshine.” Poe had taken to calling her a Rey of Sunshine as a pun on her name, and the nickname had stuck when the other pilots started calling her that. 

Snap nodded solemnly. “I tried to get Karé assigned, but she had to go to Onderon with Poe and Finn. Said something about a defecting garrison of bucketheads.” 

Stormtroopers had been defecting more and more after Finn left. They realized that if someone else could escape, they could too. Poe and Finn had made it their personal mission to get as many troopers out of the program as possible. Karé had been a slave as a child, and she wanted to get as many troopers out as possible because from Finn’s description, it was almost like slavery for them. 

Rey knew Snap had been wary of his wife going on the Onderon mission, but nothing stopped Karé when she wanted to do something. She patted Snap on the back. “Karé will be fine. Finn and Poe won’t let anything happen to her.” 

Snap sighed. “I hope you’re right.” He turned to Jessika. “Jess, can you grab the extra parts for the hyperdrive? The Shadow Bird hasn’t been repaired and Finn and Poe took Porg’s Pride.” 

Jess nodded. “Rey, it’ll be about 15 hours, so I’d take a bunk.” 

Rey nodded and walked into the ship. She felt the familiar jolt of the ship taking off and settled in for a nap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After Chapter 6, I will have ran out of prewritten chapters. I will cut down on posting to once a week on Tuesdays.


	6. Maniacal Thoughts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd by [the-grays-of-ink](https://the-grays-of-ink.tumblr.com/)

Lieutenant General Armitage Hux stood austerely on the bridge of his capital ship, the Thrawn, watching TIE/fo space superiority fighters fan out towards the jungle planet of Onderon. 

His spies in the capital city of Iziz had reported a garrison of Stormtroopers expressing unusual behaviors. FN-8134 had been reported being seen outside their jurisdiction zone. He had him brought in for questioning and subsequent reconditioning. Just before the trooper’s mind broke from torture, he told Hux that the rest of his garrison was defecting to the pitiful excuse for a rebellion that they had nearly eliminated on Crait. 

He needed to weed these traitors out and stop any further acts of dissident. The garrison would be found guilty for treason and executed on a public platform for people to see what would happen if they dared cross the First Order. 

It was a shame to his stormtrooper program, as he prided himself in the integrity of the Stormtrooper corps. He himself had gone through some aspects of the program. He had thought his father psychopathic at the time, but he now understood why. The system was efficient and churned out useful soldiers for the First Order. 

The galaxy needed Order. He had requested a new capital ship, twice the size of the Supremacy. It would be 120 kilometers long and could hold four and a half million troops, with landing bay capacity for twelve dreadnaughts and the weapons capacity to obliterate a planet. The power of Starkiller Base but easily moved. The miserable Resistance would stand no chance. 

He snapped out of his wistful reverie. 

“Lieutenant General Hux, sir. We were alerted to a possible sighting of the Resistance on Onderon,” Officer Stynnix reported. 

He snapped his head around. “I have already been briefed on this subject and will be in meeting on this subject at 1500. I suggest you get your information from a newer source, as it is already stale.” 

Officer Stynnix nodded deferentially. “Yes sir.” She turned and walked away. 

Hux frowned, marching away from the window to the General’s meeting room. He had a plan to obliterate the Rebels once and for all. 

_______________________________________________________ 

Hux strutted into the conference room with fervor. He glanced at the General Pryde and General Peavey surrounding the conference table, and Escryn Ren in the corner. She regards him with distaste. 

“Generals, we have reports of a Resistance sighting on Onderon, of the Pilot Poe Dameron and the Traitor FN-2187.” He spit out their names with barely controlled disdain. “This could be our time to obliterate the dissenters once and for all. I propose we start a blockade around the city.” 

General Pryde looks at him as if he is a petulant child. “Lieutenant General Hux. You are overstepping your command. Only the Supreme Leader can order a blockade. And I take it you haven’t invited him to this impromptu meeting, have you.” 

Hux blanches. “No, General, I haven’t. And with all due respect, I don’t feel the need to if his Knight is in the room.” 

Pryde hardens his gaze. “I invited him myself, as to not incur a breach of protocol. I will speak to you in private afterwards regarding his Knight.” 

As if on cue, the door bursts open, and Ren himself is standing there in his ridiculous getup. 

He glares at Hux, and he begins to feel a pressure on his throat. Not quite a choke, but enough to be uncomfortable. 

“General Hux, I agree with your strategy. If only you followed correct protocol. I ordered the blockade hours ago. If only you had come to me earlier.” 

Ren turns, his cape fluttering. He calls over his shoulder voice full of fury. “See me in my office, Lieutenant General Hux.” Escryn follows. 

Hux dutifully follows. He feels the General’s eyes on him, plotting to tale his power. Pryde shouldn’t be too hard to eliminate. He has grown forgetful in his old age. A simple drop of Jakkian snake venom should do the job. Peavey is a true ally though. 

He steps into Ren’s office, and the door shuts behind him. 

Escryn takes a seat in the corner, But Ren steps closer to Hux. 

“You will not undermine my authority again. You have one strike left, Hux, and I suggest you use it wisely. 

Hux nods, shielding his mind so the tyrant can’t access his thoughts, which are tantamount to treason. 

“Yes, Supreme Leader.” 

He backs out of Ren’s office, heading towards General Pryde’s office, his jackboots clicking on the polished floors. Pryde was a concern for his plans to regain his position, the General had served under the Empire with the likes of Grand Admiral Thrawn, the most cunning strategist in the past 100 years. He had met Grand Admiral Thrawn as a young child and had been brought up on his battle strategies. It would cost him greatly to underestimate Pryde and any other old Imperials. 

He opened the door, seeing Pryde at his desk. 

He barks at Hux. “Have you gone mad? Ren could have our heads for this, you bastard. It would have been so much easier if you had died with your whore of a mother!” 

Hux sees red. He leaps over the desk, forgetting protocol. “How dare you speak of my mother in that way!” 

Pryde sneers. “The kitchen maid’s bastard seeks to defend her honor. She had no honor, Boy.” 

Hux grits his jaw, extending the monomolecular blade hidden in his sleeve. The thin blade spears Pryde in the chest. 

Pryde gasps his last breath, then falls limp on his chair. The blade slides back into the bloody sheath. 

Hux’s once perfectly coiffed hair had fallen across his face. He wipes the blood off the sheath onto Pryde’s clothes. At least he won’t have to acquire the Jakkian snake venom. 

Notes: I do not like writing Hux. He’s just too slimy and evil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate writing Hux. He's just so evil and conniving.  
> In other news: Posting schedule has been changed to once a week, on Tuesdays. I had prewritten 6 chapters, and this is the last one I have written. I hope you guys understand.


	7. Catacombs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wifi went out so I was a little late to post. This chapter is not Beta’d so let me know how it is. And I promise the chapters will not get any shorter, I just had a lot going on this week.  
>  **6/23/2020: I am going on Hiatus to prepare for a special project, I expect to be back around August. Sorry about the break and I hope you all have a great day.**

The blue and white lines of hyperspace speed past the gunner’s turret of the Shadow Bird. Rey sighs contentedly. No matter how many times she jumps to hyperspace, she will never get tired of this. She has seen so many planets across the galaxy, but each one was different. 

On Takodana, she had said that she never knew there was so much green in the galaxy. She now knew there was much more. On Kashyyyk, the kilometers tall Wroshyr trees that the wookiees called home, the vibrant fungi of Felucia, and the giant Endorian trees. And now the Akivan jungle. 

“We’re dropping out of Hyperspace, get ready for landing! Remember our cover story!” Snap yelled. 

“Do we have to be bounty hunters?” Jess grumbled from Rey’s comm. “We always do the bounty hunter cover story.” 

Snap’s voice crackled through the ship’s intercom. “Well, Bounty hunters frequent Akiva. When I lived here as a kid, you almost couldn’t turn a corner without running into one.” he paused, switching to Rey’s comm. “Rey, I’d get up here, and bring your helmet. We can’t have another sighting reported.” 

She scrambled up the ladder, her lightsaber clanging against the durasteel rungs. Jess was in the secondary crew quarters changing into her robes. Rey knocked on the door. 

“Hey Jess, when are you gonna be done? We're ready to go. And if we want to make it too the meeting place in time, we leave in five minutes.” 

She tugged her helmet on. She didn’t know how Kylo Ren wore his all the time. It was uncomfortable and heavy on her head. 

She walked to the cockpit, sitting down in the copilot’s seat. The ship shuddered as it leapt out of hyperspace. A green and brown planet loomed ahead. 

“Is that Akiva? It looks beautiful.” 

Snap grinned. “It is.” 

They broke atmosphere and headed down to Myrra, the capital. 

____________________________________ 

On the ground at last, Snap, Jess, and Rey headed to the meeting site. An old Rebel had invited them to the catacombs under the city. The Rebel was giving them access to the northwest quadrant of the catacombs to look around the old Rebel Alliance holding facility. It had been abandoned for over twenty years except for the agent and his husband, and still held secrets waiting to be found. 

They cautiously walked through the narrow streets, plastering themselves to the wall when a bala-bala speeder whizzed by. The streets were only eight feet wide, so that was a bit of a challenge. 

“Snap!” Snap whirled around, then broke into a huge smile. A lanky, dark-haired man strode towards them. 

Snap walked over and pulled him into a one-armed hug. “Sinjir! I wondered if it was you.” 

Rey looked to Jess. Jess shrugged. “Hey, Snap, you wanna tell us who your buddy here is?” 

Snap nodded. “Rey, Jess, meet Sinjir Rath Velus. We went on a few adventures back when I was just starting with the New Republic.” He grinned conspiratorially. “How's it going with Conder?” 

Sinjir’s eyes widened at something over Jess’s shoulder, and he pulled them into an alcove. Two stormtroopers walked by. 

“We need to stay out of sight. The entrance to the catacombs is just the next block over." 

Sinjir motioned for them to follow him. He turned around a corner and disappeared. 

Rey looked over. Sinjir’s head was sticking out of a doorway. His head vanished. 

“Did he just disappear?” Jess gasped. 

“Nope, just a simple cloaking mechanism.” His head popped back out. “You should get in the elevator before the Troopers come back. They patrol every half hour, so we need to be careful.” 

They all crowded into the tiny elevator. They could see right through the hologram from the inside, despite it being Imperial-era. 

Jess leaned against the wall as the elevator headed down. “Anything we should worry about? I mean, other than the fact that the base is super old and the Uugteen that supposedly want to rip our throats out?” 

Sinjir nodded. “There are a few rumors about a Jedi hideout from the Jedi Purge, but I’m assuming that’s why you brought the Last Jedi.” He hit the second button on the panel. 

Rey looked at him confused. “There was a Jedi hideout?” 

Snap nodded sheepishly. “I forgot to tell you about that. People also say there is a Hutt breeding ground, but most Akivans think that’s crazy.” 

Jess laughed. “I would have smelled the Hutts already, so I can believe that.” She turned to Rey. “And there's not much chance of us finding a Jedi hideout.” 

Rey sighed. “It would have helped with my training. The general can only teach me so much.” 

The elevator ground to a halt. The metal door opened into a small passageway about six feet high led to a metal door. 

Sinjir hit an access panel on the side of the wall and the door slid open, revealing a huge chamber, over 200 meters tall. 

“Welcome to the Catacombs!” He exclaimed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come and see me on [my Tumblr](https://fernpool.tumblr.com/)  
> I found the [picture](https://frozenmusings.tumblr.com/post/161125101896/full-picture-hes-a-knight-right-a) that inspired me to write the chase scene in chapter one:


	8. Distractions in the form of fighting to the death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did it. I finished this chapter. I apologize for making all of you guys who subscribed to this wait so long but here it is. It may be short but I hope you guys like it! 😊

When Kylo couldn’t sleep, or just needed stress relief, he would train. The weight of his saber in his hand would ground him, the slight pressure of the training droids on the blade as he cut through them therapeutic. But not this time. This time he needed to feel them crumble, needed the feeling of his fists hitting the droids. 

He lunged, striking the droid square in the chest. Kylo pivoted, round housing the droid’s head. It buckled, snapping back at him. 

He focused, pulling on the Dark side of the Force. It enveloped him, made him feel invulnerable. He felt the droid’s synthskin ripple under his fists, and it flew across the room, slamming against the wall. 

He swiveled, fending off an attack by the other droid. He rolled backwards, grabbing a staff from the floor. 

Kylo popped up on to his feet, blocking the droids blow to his left, then sweeping a low blow.   
The droid faltered, giving him an opening to thrust his staff into its chest. Its eyes dimmed and it fell limp. 

He dropped the staff and the droid to the ground, floating the droid over to the maintenance door. He entered a note into the keypad next to the door, leaving the droid there. 

He grabbed his comm and entered a command for the Knights to come to the training room. The droids were too easy to defeat, even at the highest level. He needed an opponent who would challenge him, and this would be a good opportunity to get some training for the knights.   
He sat down on the bench at the far side of the training room, waiting for the Knights to arrive. Snoke had been manipulating him his entire life. Looking back, he couldn’t remember a time where he hadn’t been in the back of his mind, persuading him to fall to the dark side. Snoke’s training left scars, both mental and physical. He wouldn’t subject the knights to that. He knew how much it twisted a person. 

Marek walked in; eyes bleary from sleep. “What possessed you to wake us up at two in the morning? We just got recalled from Wobani.” 

Sarvia stared at him menacingly. “I haven’t slept more than two hours in three weeks. Three weeks, Kylo. Prison uprisings are not conducive to sleep.” 

Escryn glared at them. “Don’t be weak, get up and let’s train. There is no room for weakness. Doesn’t your precious Mandalorian code teach you that?” She sneered. 

Sarvia whirled around, pointing her saber at Escryn’s throat. “I am not weak.” She hissed. Escryn’s eyes flashed yellow. 

Kylo glared at the two, pulling Sarvia’s saber from her hand. “Stop. I don’t need you two fighting with each other. I need you fighting me.” 

He paused, looking for an explanation. “I need to know your skills haven’t grown rusty during your time away from the ship. No sabers.” 

He tossed Sarvia back her saber, and she clipped it to her belt. 

Marek made his way over to the weapons rack and grabbed five vibroblades. “These good, Kylo?” 

Kylo nodded. “Formation five, no holding back.” 

Marek looked at him concerned but nodded. He tossed the vibroblades to the knights.   
Kylo grabbed a crossguard vibroblade off the wall and twirled it. 

Sarvia stalked back and forth, and Kylo couldn’t help but think she looked like Rey, when he was knocked down on Starkiller Base. 

He mentally shook his head. He shouldn’t think of Rey now. He had to focus. Kylo shifted his grip on his lightsaber hilt. 

Escryn darted forwards, her double-bladed vibrostaff whirling towards Kylo’s throat. He leaned backwards, copying the move he had seen Luke do on Crait. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Marek’s blade whirling towards his sword arm, and swung his up in a reverse grip just in time. He roughly shoved the blade off and pulled the handle of the blade towards him. 

He shoved Escryn away with the force. He pulled Marek into an arm lock, blocking an incoming blow from Sarvia with his sword. 

A good distraction was all he needed, and this was what he got. The thrill of the battle coursed through his veins, and he felt invincible. 

He was just a man though. _Never_ invincible. That was for sure when Escryn sliced his back with her blade. 

As he blacked out, he thought how ironic it was. He had sliced the traitor with his saber in the exact same manner barely two and a half months ago. How far the mighty had fallen.


	9. The Crystal's Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During the tour of the base, Rey feels a call from below

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me maybe two hours to write, the fastest of all the chapters. I hope you guys enjoy!

Rey looked around in awe. The room had gently sloping walls and could probably fit over a dozen ships in it. A huge hydraulic lift with a G9 Rigger class freighter began lowering to the ground. There were openings carved into the wall, and she could see docking mechanisms all over the sides of the walls. 

She wondered how they had kept this so well-hidden. The base was definitely Resistance-era, based on the tech strewn about the shelf next to... 

Rey tapped on Sinjir’s shoulder. “Am I seeing things, or is that a _Ghtroc 690_?” 

He looked at her strangely. “You know the model? It's quite old, not many recognize it.” 

Rey smiled. “For all the propaganda the First Order puts out about me being a ‘lowly desert scavenger’, you’d think more people would realize I know my way around Empire-era ships.” 

She walked over To the ship, raising her voice slightly so the rest of them could still hear her. “I even used to have a _Ghtroc 690_ myself. Fixed it up myself on Jakku to sell to Plutt.” 

That got Jessica’s attention. “Why didn’t you use it to get off Jakku? And how much did you get for it, if you don’t mind me asking.” 

“Devi and Strunk, two scavengers I had trusted, stole it while I was bartering. Didn’t get anything in the end.” Rey rested her hand on the hull. “Taught me not to trust anyone on Jakku.” 

“Devi stole it from you?” 

Rey turned around and saw a man had popped up next to Sinjir. 

“I knew there was something off about that girl. Still, a shame she got snatched up by the bucketheads. She talked too much, and you learn to keep quiet when you need to.” 

Sinjir put his hand on the man's shoulder affectionately. “This is my husband, Conder. He knows his way around the base like the back of his hand, except the catacombs.” 

“Now, don’t you all want a tour of the base? I’ve got some ration bars for when we’re done.” 

Snap nodded. “Thanks for letting us come. Leia sends her regards.” 

Conder smiled. “When you see her next tell her I send the same. Follow me, I’ll show you around.” 

He walked towards the elevator and they all piled in. Sinjir pressed the four button and the elevator creakily descended downwards. 

The door opened into a large hallway, with doors all along the sides. They filed out of the elevator in awe. 

Sinjir spread his arms wide. “Welcome to the barracks! Each door is a room for up to two people, and there is two ‘freshers at the end of the hallway.”

Jessica and Snap barely contained their excitement, but Rey felt something at the back of her mind. A tug, like the cave on Ahch-to. It wasn't as strong, but she felt it nonetheless. Thankfully, the father they went into the barracks level, the more it dissipated. 

“Now it’s time to show you all the Commons area! It’s on floor 6, so a little deeper down.” 

As they headed back to the elevator, the tugging grew stronger, almost a downwards tug. As the elevator descended, the direction shifted, to left of her. 

The doors opened and Rey almost sprinted out. “I’m gonna hang back for a bit, sit down.”   
“Everything ok?” Snap said concernedly. 

“Yeah. Knee’s still kind of sore from banging it on the _Falcon_ when I was fixing it.” She lied. 

Snap winced in understanding. “I understand how you feel.” 

Rey sat down next to the elevator. “See you guys in a bit!” 

She waited until they had rounded the corner and footsteps faded, then went up to the locked door next to her, where the feeling was pulling her. She felt for the lock, lifting up the individual keys in the lock. The door opened and Rey headed through it. 

The tunnel was pitch black, and Rey ignited half of her saberstaff, and she saw that the tunnel led on. The tug was stronger than ever, and Rey let it guide her where to go, not noticing where the tunnel led her until she came into a large opening. A twi-lek skeleton lay on the floor, and Rey felt sorry for the twi-lek. Whoever they had been, they must have starved when they couldn’t get out. A decaying satchel lay next to the skeleton, and the tug came from the satchel. 

She gently reached into the satchel, the leather crumbling under her touch. A green crystal shone brightly, and she touched it. 

Her surroundings blacked out, and she saw a Quarren in robes not unlike Luke’s cutting down Imperial Stormtroopers, then falling down a hole into the caves. The Quarren, who her mind helpfully supplied as Selrahc Eluos, crawled through the tunnels, blood trailing behind him. He crawled to the wall in the cavern his skeleton was, then disassembled his lightsaber. The pieces flung to all sides of the cavern, and the crystal went in his side-satchel. Eluos laid down, and Rey knew he had died.   
The vision faded, and Rey sat on the floor next to what she now knew was Eluos’s skeleton, the crystal cool in her hand. She sat the crystal in what would have been Eluos’s palm. 

If he hadn’t been injured, would he have made it out and survived? 

Would she make it out? Rey remembered that she didn’t know where she was, and how to get back to the base. She was well and truly lost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the cliffhanger! I hope to have the next chapter up within a month or sooner though!


End file.
